Three Days
by Lyralocke
Summary: Kataang, oneshot. It had been three days since they had left the Fire Nation for a vacation at Iroh’s tea shop in Ba Sing Se. Three days since Aang had anything to worry about. It had been a very good three days.


_I wouldn't say this is Kataang so much as I'd say this is canon. Which, therefore, is Kataang. ...Baha. Couldn't help myself._

_I didn't really say much about the finale in my last oneshot, but I don't think there's much else to say. I am satisfied. I am content. I'm a little sad that it's over. That's what this is for. This is me and the Gaang taking a trip to the beginning and looking ahead to the future._

_So thanks, Mike and Bryan. It's been a great ride._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

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Aang sighed. It had been three days since they had left the Fire Nation for a vacation at Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se. Three days since Aang had anything to worry about. Three days since Katara had followed him out onto the balcony and kissed him.

It had been a very good three days.

Three days of quiet, smiling conversations. Three days of her hand in his. Three days of his arm around her waist. Three days of kisses. Three days of falling asleep side-by-side on soft cushions around a pai sho board and a warm tea kettle, surrounded by their improvised family.

A very, very good three days.

The morning of the fourth day found the rather odd mix of a family at the zoo Aang had created what felt like so long ago outside the inner wall of Ba Sing Se. Zuko and Mai were wending their way along the earth paths between habitats. Sokka and Suki were loitering around a food vendor Sokka had become particularly fond of for giving them a discount, affectionately named the "saving the world special" by Toph. She and Iroh were leaning against the railing around the foxelope enclosure, speaking and laughing in a way only Toph and Iroh could.

Aang and Katara, on the other hand, were laying side-by-side on one of the low, rolling hills separating the wall from the farmland. They were carpeted in long, lush grass and shaded by a fringe of trees acting as windbreakers for the crops. The two of them were comfortably situated on a shady patch facing the zoo, nearly hidden in the tall grass and gazing up at the bright gold butterflies making their lazy way across the watery blue sky.

Aang sighed again, and Katara sighed in response. He glanced over at her and was greeted by a smile. It was such a smile, too. A smile he recognized from numerous occasions over the course of their journey, but only recently had he realized that smile was just for him. It had always been just for him. And he couldn't help but grin back every time.

"Hey," she said gently. "You've been doing a lot of sighing lately." He laughed a little and she smiled. She turned on her side to face him and he did the same. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, lips brushing hers since they were still so close. She let out a soft giggle.

"Care to elaborate?" she sighed, closing her eyes and settling herself a little closer.

"Of course," he murmured, and she smiled again. Every word he spoke moved his lips lightly against hers, and it tickled. His hand found hers between them. "It's just… well it's something Sokka said, actually."

"What did I say?"

The two of them sat up in surprise, looking around over the top of the grass. Sokka was approaching them slowly. He was still moving a little slower than usual, but his leg hadn't completely healed yet. He sat down on Aang's other side without preamble. Katara rolled her eyes a little, but both she and Aang greeted Sokka's arrival with a smile.

"On our second day here, when we were at the Jasmine Dragon," Aang began thoughtfully. "You said you were glad we have this time here, because the rest of the world is changing so fast."

Sokka shrugged. "It's true," he said simply. "I mean… I'm not saying I miss the war or anything, but my best memories have been made this past year."

Katara smiled. "Mine too," she consented quietly, squeezing Aang's hand. He kissed her cheek. Sokka just smiled faintly.

"I know what you mean," Aang replied at length. "Everything has already changed so much. At the beginning, it was just the three of us."

His words were followed with silence as the reality of this sunk in.

"That seems like so long ago," said Katara.

"I've kind of missed this," Sokka admitted. The other two glanced at him. "Toph and the others are part of the family and all, but I feel like in the end, it's always been us three, you know?"

"And it always will be," Aang said firmly. Katara and Sokka both smiled at him. "Always. No matter what happens between us and the others, it will always be us three."

"Always," Katara confirmed.

Sokka smiled. "Yeah, always."

They fell into another long silence. The zoo was slowly getting busier as the day progressed toward noon, but the hill remained quiet. The loudest sound was the wind whispering in the long grass.

"I feel like we've reached the end of something," Sokka said at length. "Not just the war or our journey. Something has come to an end, and I don't really know where to go from here."

"There's something the monks used to say," Aang replied distantly. "The universe moves in circles. Time repeats itself, life comes and goes in a cyclical motion. That's why airbending moves in a circular way, to better channel the natural flow of the universe."

"What does that mean?" Sokka asked quietly.

The three of them were silent again for a moment, sitting in a line, gazing out at Ba Sing Se. At the new world they had created.

"Each happy ending is a brand new beginning," said Aang.

The three of them smiled. Sokka reached a brotherly arm around Aang's shoulders. Aang did the same, looping the other arm around Katara's waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder, resting against Sokka's hand.

"It's been a good three days," Aang said, laughter in his voice.

"It'll keep getting better," Katara added contentedly.

"And just think," Sokka replied, smiling. "It's just the beginning."


End file.
